Located in a small town about 20 miles from Columbus, Ohio, lies one of the most likable schools in Division III College Lacrosse, Ohio Wesleyan University aka OWU. What makes this school so appealing to a college lacrosse fan? Well, for one, they have a rich history, great alumni, a cool mascot, beautiful stadium, quality academics and well-respected coaches. Secondly, they attract quality young men to their program. This article focuses on one of those young men, Stephen Coyne.
Stephen Coyne is an Alumnus to the FLG program, graduating in 2010. After attending Cold Spring Harbor High School, Stephen decided to continue his lacrosse career at OWU.
“A lot of people may not know this, but OWU ranks second in NCAA Division III lacrosse playoff appearances.” Said Stephen Coyne, Senior starting defender. “Coming into college, our expectations as a team were just that, make the NCAA tournament.”
Last year, the North Coast Athletic Conference hosted the first ever NCAC lacrosse tournament. After the conference tournament was put into place, Stephen said the team’s mindset began to shift, “Instead of overlooking opponents and concentrating on making the NCAA’s, our team started taking a game by game approach. It really seemed to work for us last year.”
Speaking of last year, OWU was ranked 6th nationally in goals against. After asking Coyne what made his defense so successful he replied, “We were well coached, well prepared, had great leadership and overall team chemistry.”
This year will serve as a new chapter for OWU men’s lacrosse and will prove to be a huge year for seniors such as Coyne. Not only do senior college lacrosse players have one more shot to be successful on the field, they have the added pressure of figuring out “What’s next?” after college.
“Fortunately, the coaches here at OWU are more than just great lacrosse coaches. They really care about our lives after college.” Said Coyne. “I am currently an Accounting major with a minor in Management. Thanks to the coaches steering me in the right direction, I feel confident that I’ll have the necessary information to make an educated decision as to what I should do after school.”
It was refreshing to hear how well Stephen was doing, not just on the field, but also in the classroom. Before finishing up our phone conversation I asked him one last question:
What is one piece of advice you would give a young student athlete going through the recruiting process today?
Stephen replied with more than one piece of advice, he gave me three:
- Keep your options open. Don’t shut out any schools.
- Get to the school and make visits. Maybe even twice to get a good feel for it.
- Be persistent with the coaches and let them know how you feel. If you are interested in a school, let the coaches know.
Special thanks to FLG Alumni, Stephen Coyne, for spending the time to discuss his experience thus far at OWU! You are the definition of a studlete and someone who is more than just an athlete.
Tomorrow at noon, Shelby Stadium will be set to host The Battling Bishop’s biggest game of the season against Washington College. Not because WAC is ranked #5 in the nation, but because they are OWU’s next game.
